St. Thomas More School wins Future City competition for third consecutive year

HAMMOND – Three teams of middle school students from Baton Rouge took top awards at the state's
Future City competition sponsored by Southeastern Louisiana University Jan. 25 and
Feb. 1.

The team "Christopia," representing St. Thomas More Catholic School in Baton Rouge,
took the top award for the third consecutive year at the event, which included seven
participating schools from Louisiana and Mississippi. The judging was split over two
weekends to accommodate teams unable to participate in January due to weather and
road conditions.

The second place team was "Tropic Thunder City" of Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet
Academy of Baton Rouge, while third place went to "Team Baton Rouge" representing
Episcopal High School of Baton Rouge.

Coordinated by the Southeastern Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology,
the regional Future City competition pitted seven middle school teams from Louisiana
and Mississippi in a competition that involves the design of a virtual city using
SimCity4 Deluxe software that is donated to the teams. The students were also required
to write a research essay on their project, build a physical model using recycled
materials, and make an oral presentation to a panel of judges.

This year's competition, sponsored in part by Shell and Entergy, focused on designing
a transportation system for the team's model city. A $500 cash award was presented
to the three teams that made the finals. Other sponsors included the National Engineering
Week Foundation, CH2M-Hill Engineering and NCEES, a national nonprofit organization
dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors.

The St. Thomas More team was coached by teacher Shirley Newman and included students
Gabbie Taylor, Ann Nguyen, Vivian Brown and Jason Taylor. As winners of the Southeastern
event, the St. Thomas More team will go to the national finals in Washington, DC,
later in February.

Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy of Baton Rouge was coached by teacher
Ingrid Cruz. Team members included Kerigan Ramsey, Kirsten Cannon and Aircka Gibbs.
Episcopal High School student participants included Celia Kiesel, Izzy Goel, Parker
Wyatt, Laura Kurtz, MacKenzie Robards, Gautham Mahes, Adam Reid and Sevy Breaux. The
students were coached by teacher Elizabeth Connell. Episcopal High also earned the
CH2M-Hill special award of $200 for presenting the most holistic approach in their
presentation.

"The judges expressed to me their astonishment at what all these participants managed
to do, particularly their impressive creativity," said Future City coordinator Cris
Koutsougeras, professor of computer science at Southeastern. "They won our admiration
and respect, and I believe they gained through this experience an understanding of
future challenges and the means to conquer them. Competitions like this will have
a positive impact in their lives and their future careers."

Other participating schools in the competition included Youngsville Christian School
of Youngsville, La., two teams from Gautier Middle School of Gautier, Miss., and a
team representing Colmer Middle School of Pascagoula, Miss. Colmer Middle School and
team "Kirkland" from Gautier Middle School also shared the NCEES award accompanied
by a $200 stipend.

"This event serves as a great opportunity for young students to work together as a
team in a competition that involves science and technology," said Koutsougeras. "Future
City is a fun but challenging event that helps students understand the roles that
science and engineering can bring to solving problems. It is a tremendous learning
opportunity for these young participants.

PHOTO CUTLINES

BATON ROUGE AREA (3)1) ST. THOMAS MORE CLAIMS FIRST PLACE IN FUTURE CITY COMPETITIONHAMMOND – Team "Christopia," representing St. Thomas More School in Baton Rouge, claimed
first place in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern
Louisiana University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured,
from left to right, are teacher Shirley Newman, students Gabbie Taylor, Ann Nguyen,
Vivian Brown and engineering mentor Jason Taylor.

2) HAMMOND – Team "Tropic Thunder City, representing Scotlandville Pre-Engineering
Magnet Academy of Baton Rouge, placed second in the regional Future City competition
coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana University Department of Computer Science
and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the event, from left to right, are students
Kerigan Ramsey, Airica Gibbs, Kirsten Cannon and teachers Jennifer Anderson and Ingrid
Cruz.

3) HAMMOND – Team Baton Rouge, representing Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, placed
third in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana
University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the
event, from left to right, are students MacKenzie Robards, Celia Kiesel, Izzy Goel
and Laura Kurtz. Episcopal High also earned the CH2M-Hill special award for presenting
the most holistic approach in their presentation.

LAFAYETTE AREA (1)4) HAMMOND – A team from Youngsville Christian School participated in the regional Future
City competition coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana University Department of
Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the event, from left to right,
are Robert Russell, mentor Steele Russell, and Alex Russell. The winning team was
from St. Thomas More High School in Baton Rouge.

6) HAMMOND – Team "Kirkland," representing Gautier Middle School in Gautier, Miss.,
participated in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern
Louisiana University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured
at the event, from left to right, are Steven Tait, Lili Sagaser, Jacob Marler, and
Alex Parr.

7) HAMMOND – Team "New New York," representing Gautier Middle School in Gautier, Miss.,
in the regional Future City competition coordinated by the Southeastern Louisiana
University Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. Pictured at the
event, from left to right, are Adan Nunez, Peyton Pound, Canyon Phelps, and Tamya
Sims.

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